AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Wranglers Foundation, in conjunction with the Arena Football League's Austin Wranglers and Clear Channel Radio-Austin, announce the first annual Lone Star Arena Football Classic, which will take place on Friday, February 23, 2007, at 7 p.m. at the Frank Erwin, Jr. Special Events Center, played on Sportexe, even co-sponsor and official synthetic turf system provider for the AFL and af2. This new event celebrates football in Central Texas by gathering outstanding seniors from Capital Area high school football teams to participate in an Arena Football style all-star game.
"We are very appreciative of the rich football tradition in the Capital Area. It is important to honor all the individuals from the student athletes to the support staff as well as the avid supporters of high school football in this region," said Wranglers President Doug MacGregor. "We are excited that the Lone Star Arena Football Classic will give us an opportunity to pay tribute to what has become the lifeblood of our community."
There will be two teams of 30 players from the North and South (school districts from Georgetown to Seguin) with Westwood Head Coach Anthony Wood coaching the North and Lake Travis Head Coach Jeff Dicus coaching the South. Assisting these men will be Arena Football coaches from the various teams in Texas.
Players will be selected by the North and South coaches, AM1300 The Zone Sports Director and The Voice of Texas High School Football Craig Way, Sports Writer Rick Cantu and other media members. The game will be aired on the Austin Wranglers Flagship Radio Station, AM1300 The Zone, with Craig Way and Erin Hogan calling the action.
All tickets to the game are general admission for $10 and can be purchased by telephone at 512.339.3939, at the Wranglers Box Office located at 2209 W. Braker Lane and throughout the community.
Proceeds from the Lone Star Arena Football Classic will be donated to the Austin Wranglers Foundation for purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) for the Capital Area schools that are participating in the game. In addition, Westlake High School senior Matt Nader, whose life was saved on the football field with a defibrillator earlier this fall, will take part in the game's coin toss.
"Providing financial assistance for defibrillators will ensure the continued health and well-being of our community's student athletes as AED's have proved to be so critical in saving lives in the Capital Area during the recent months, " said MacGregor.
The game will include all of the excitement of Arena Football games including pyrotechnics during player introductions and the participation of select high school bands, cheerleaders, and mascots. At halftime, the 2007 Austin Wranglers players and coaches will be introduced. Following the game, the high school all-stars along with the Wranglers players, will be on the field for a post-game autograph session.
The winner of the North-South match-up will receive a commemorative trophy and a most valuable player will be selected. All players and coaches will keep their jerseys and apparel to represent their accomplishments throughout their high school football careers.
Montreal. Feb.14, 2007 - BC Lions GM and head coach Wally Buono, the 2006 Sportexe CFL Coach of the Year, has been named as the CFL's Coach of the Year for the third time in his coaching career by 46 voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC). Buono received 34 votes in winning the award which recognizes the commitment and efforts of head coaches across the league, with special honours going to the coach who most demonstrates exceptional leadership, discipline and dedication to excellence during the regular season. Winnipeg's Doug Berry received eight votes while Toronto's Michael "Pinball" Clemons received two votes (Calgary's Tom Higgins, the 2003 Sportexe CFL winner, and former Saskatchewan head coach Danny Barrett received one vote each).
"This is a tremendous honor on a personal level and a recognition of the outstanding of our entire coaching staff," said Buono. "The CFL Outstanding Player Awards, the all-star sections, the Grey Cup championship and this award certainly indicate that we enjoyed a lot of success in 2006 and we have set the bar pretty high for the season ahead."
The Buono-led Lions enjoyed one of the most dominating seasons in recent CFL history in 2006 racking up a 13-5 record during the regular season and then capping off the year with a 25-14 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes in Winnipeg this past November. The championship was Buono's fourth as a head coach and his first since joining the Lions.
Highly-respected among coaching peers, Buono has amassed a regular season record of 201-103-2, putting him second only to Don Matthews in all-time CFL wins. His consistency and success have been recognized with the CFL's Coach of the Year award in 1992 and 1993.
As Buono prepares for his fifth season as the Leos' sideline boss he does so with 49 regular season wins for a .680 winning percentage and trails only Don Matthews (56) and Vic Rapp (53) in all-time wins as Lions head coach.
ROUND ROCK, Texas. Feb. 9, 2007 - Trey Henderson became the sixth straight Irish football player from Vancouver College, a prep school in British Columbia, to receive an NCAA Division I scholarship when he signed his national letter of intent with Southern California on Wednesday.
Henderson, coached by Sportexe Canadian High School Coach of the Year Todd Bernett, joins Peter Dyakowski, LSU (2002), Jon Conlin (2003) and Joe Eppele (2005), Washington State, and Shea Emry (2004) and Rob Nazarinia (2006), Eastern Washington.
"Trey has been a dedicated teammate and worker for our football program," said Bernett. "He will shine at the next level - physically and mentally. He is built for the college game."
Henderson will be the only Canadian on the Trojan roster, and no Canadian has ever played for USC previously. Henderson, a standout defensive lineman for the Irish during the past thee seasons, played on both sides of the ball at five different positions. As both a defensive tackle and defensive end, Henderson had 106 career tackles and 15 career sacks.
"He is a big and physical kid," said Nick Holt, Defensive Coordinator for USC. "He really caught our eye on film, and he proved he could play at our level with his performance at camp."
Former VC lineman Dyakowski, a senior offensive tackle for LSU, has been named to the ESPN.com All-Bowl Team, the website announced on Friday, Feb. 2.
Dyakowski played a key role in LSU's 41-14 win over the 11th-ranked Notre Dame in this season's Sugar Bowl. The Tigers rolled up a season-high 577 yards of total offense against the Irish. LSU had 245 yards rushing and 332 yards passing in the win.
Former Coach Named Sportexe Director of Lacrosse
Round Rock, TX, February 05, 2007 -- With more than four and a half years experience in the turf biz, Greensboro College's all-time winningest lacrosse head coach John Burke (1990-1995) has been named the Director of Lacrosse for Sportexe, a global leader in the synthetic turf industry.
Burke, the Western U.S. Sales Manager for Sportexe, will spearhead the lacrosse initiative after spending a majority of his career as both a player and coach within the sport. Burke followed his stint at Greensboro, where he captured two Deep South Lacrosse League titles, as an assistant coach at Ohio Wesleyan University (1998-2000) and head coach at his alma mater Guilford College (2002-2004). He led Ohio Wesleyan to the NCAA quarterfinals two years in a row, including spending the entire regular season in 1998 ranked No. 1.
"I am proud to represent Sportexe for the sport of lacrosse," said Burke. "I feel that my 20 years of experience will give me an edge in providing an honest insight into synthetic turf for the sport. There are some great initiatives line up for 2007"
As a student-athlete, Burke played both football and basketball at Guilford and was selected as Best Senior Athlete in 1988. He also played in the North-South Senior Lacrosse All-Star game hosted at Johns Hopkins University.
"Sportexe prides itself on staffing sport-specific experts to help further establish our hold as an industry leader," said Sportexe CEO and President Mark Nicholls. "John Burke is a perfect example of this philosophy. He brings more than two decades of lacrosse experience to Sportexe which provides our clients unsurpassed levels of customer satisfaction with every job. We feel confident that John will further our already strong relationship within the lacrosse community."
Sportexe turf systems are designed to enhance performance and meet the rigorous requirements for the sport of lacrosse. Clients include National Lacrosse League members Toronto Rock, Calgary Roughnecks, Rochester Knighthawks Arizona Sting, San Jose Stealth, Minnesota Swarm, Philadelphia Wings, Colorado Mammoth, Portland Jax and Edmonton Rush. Other clients include 2005 NCAA Champion Johns Hopkins, 2006 #1 ranked Boys' Latin School of Maryland and University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
ROUND ROCK, Texas. Feb. 6, 2007 - Middle Tennessee State University is just settling into its new Sportexe PowerBlade turf system, the first Sportexe monofilament synthetic turf system installation in the nation, but it is already being heralded by the Blue Raiders athletic training department as "the best turf system" MTSU has played on.
"It is the first turf that plays like real grass that I have been associated with during my 27 years in the business," said Joe-Joe Petrone, Director of Sports Medicine at MTSU and former athletic trainer to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets. "The surface provides great footing and is easy on the legs."
As with many new technologies, Sportexe faced early challenges during the installation process, but quickly attacked any hiccups to provide a playing surface of unparalleled performance and quality.
"Sportexe has been very responsive in dealing with any hurdles we have faced with our new turf system," said MTSU Athletics Director Chris Massaro. "We have received positive feedback from our coaching staff and players regarding quality and performance."
The Blue Raiders, the largest undergraduate institution in the state of Tennessee with 22,863, is coming off its best season in program history. The Blue Raiders had an incredible turnaround from a year ago by going 7-6 overall and winning a school record six Sun Belt Conference games to earn a share of the league title.
"If you would have told me at the beginning of the season we would be conference champs and playing in a bowl game on ESPN I would have taken it in a second," said first-year MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill. "These kids deserve all the credit for a great year because they overcame a lot, believed in each other, and made plays when they had to in order to win games. It was a great year that will help our program immensely in the future."
"I think we are off to a tremendous start," said Massaro, who in just over one year hired Stockstill and spearheaded facility upgrades. "We have made some tremendous strides this season which validates us as a Division I-A program, including three national television appearances."
Middle Tennessee also earned its first visit to a bowl game as a I-A member but an early 14-point deficit proved too much to overcome in a 31-14 setback to Central Michigan in front of 54,113 at the 10th annual Motor City Bowl at Detroit's Ford Field.
The Sportexe monofilament turf system features round edges that give the duo-tone "blades of grass" a softer and less abrasive feel. It is one of the softest and most durable products within the synthetic turf industry.
"Getting the new turf was extremely beneficial to our football program," said Stockstill, who captured both SBC and Tennessee Sports Writers Association coach of the year honors. "The turf provided us an edge at home because our players took a great deal of pride in the new synthetic surface and it has also impacted our recruiting as several players and families we have visited have brought it into the conversation. It is a great addition in the continuing upgrade of our facilities."
"The bottom line is that these kids are going to get hurt and they are going to bounce their heads off the field every game," concluded Petrone. "But the least we can do is give them the safest possible landing pad available and as far as I'm concerned that's Sportexe."
Los Angeles. Feb. 6, 2007 - Westlake Village Oaks Christian head football coach and Sportexe National High School Coach of the Year winner Bill Redell was honored on Monday, Feb. 5 with a lifetime achievement award during the 16th Annual Southern California Sports Broadcasters Awards.
Redell is the first preps coach to receive this honor.
Under Redell, Oaks Christian (15-0) became the first team to win the state championship since Kern County Union High, now Bakersfield High, won in 1927, and only the second team in state history to finish the season 15-0. The Lions also produced the second-highest point total (797) in state history, trailing Bloomington's 880 points in 14 games in 1994.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley was also presented a lifetime achievement award.
Vin Scully was a double winner at the annual awards luncheon at Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake. Scully won awards for best play-by-play announcer on radio and television. Scully was introduced by O'Malley.
It was the eighth time Scully, the voice of the Dodgers, has won both awards in the 16 years the group has honored local sportscasters.
ROUND ROCK, Texas. Feb. 5, 2007 - On March 3 at M&T Bank Stadium, in what could be a precursor to the 2007 NCAA national championship to be hosted at M&T during Memorial Day weekend, the top four teams in the nation will meet in the inaugural lacrosse Face-Off Classic and Sportexe will be right there.
Sportexe will not only be underfoot of the nation's elite lacrosse teams with its Momentum® synthetic turf system at M&T, but it will also be presenting the players of the game honors during both games. Sportexe's involvement with the Face-Off Classic is just one of many relationship-building initiatives spurred by the global turf leader.
What makes this event such a milestone is that every NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship since 1991 has been won by the four teams participating in this event. Virginia, Johns Hopkins, Syracuse and Princeton enter the season ranked 1-4 respectively with Virginia serving as not only the No. 1 seed, but also the defending national champion.
"Inside Lacrosse is excited to have Sportexe involved in the first-ever Face-Off Classic," said Andy Bilello, Director of Business Development. "This event is all about creating new opportunities for lacrosse players and fans to experience this great game on a larger stage. Thanks to partners like Sportexe, our vision will soon become reality."
On Feb. 2, Sportexe announced that former lacrosse standout John Burke, an award-winning player at Guilford College and Greensboro College's all-time winningest coach (1990-1995), was named its Director of Lacrosse.
"I am proud to represent Sportexe for the sport of lacrosse," said Burke, who will present the awards on behalf of Sportexe. "I feel that my 20 years of experience will give me an edge in providing an honest insight into synthetic turf for the sport. There is some exciting news surrounding Sportexe within the lacrosse community and our involvement with the Face-Off Classic is just one example of our commitment to furthering our already strong relationship."
Sportexe turf systems are designed to enhance performance and meet the rigorous requirements for the sport of lacrosse. Clients include National Lacrosse League members Toronto Rock, Calgary Roughnecks, Rochester Knighthawks, Arizona Sting, San Jose Stealth, Minnesota Swarm, Philadelphia Wings Colorado Mammoth, Portland Jax and Edmonton Rush. Other clients include 2005 national champion Johns Hopkins, 2006 No.1-ranked Boys' Latin School of Maryland and University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
Sportexe CEO Mark Nicholls recently appeared on American Public Radio's Marketplace program to discuss the Turf TV technology. Click here to listen!
In the late 1960s, when Astroturf was first installed at the Houston Astrodome, synthetic turf gained a reputation as being unsafe. Back then, it was completely understandable why people would feel nervous playing on the stuff; old-school astroturf was about as soft and forgiving as a pile of Brillo Pads.
But since then, synthetic turf has made some major technological strides. Modern turf systems are strikingly similar to natural grass in almost every way - in some ways, they're even better; synthetic fields don't turn to mud when it rains, they can stand up to several times the amount of usage, and they don't cost an arm and a leg to maintain.
Yet for some reason, the public perception that synthetic turf is less safe than natural grass has remained constant. And due to the relative lack of published research on the subject*, it's been a tough issue to overcome for synthetic turf companies.
But all that is about to change.
A recent report released by FIFA, the world's governing body for soccer, finds very little difference between artificial turf and natural grass in regard to injuries. Based on data collected at the FIFA U-17 Championship tournament in Peru, the report concludes that there was "very little difference in the incidence, nature and causes of injuries observed during games played on artificial turf compared with those played on grass."
The report also lauds artificial turf for its stellar performance under adverse climate conditions, and its simple, cost-effective maintenance.
* Penn State Researcher Andrew McNitt is currently executing a multi-year study of synthetic turf injuries across a wide range of surface brands and types. Read more about this study here .
A January 2007 report released by FIFA concerning artificial turf.
